dpINVESTIGATORS WILL DETERMINE IF THE FACILITY WILL BE FINED. WHILE YOU MAY REMEMBER HER AS UHURA ON STAR TREK, NICHELLE NICHOLS DIED BACK IN 2022 AND NOW HER FAMILY IS SUING THE SILVER CITY MEDICAL FACILITY WHERE SHE WAS TREATED. SEAN RUPOLO IS LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM. YEAH. DARLENE. GOOD AFTERNOON. THAT GRANT COUNTY JURY DELIBERATING FOR JUST TWO HOURS THIS AFTERNOON. THEY FOUND THE MEDICAL FACILITY NEGLIGENT IN NICHOLS DEATH. IT’S NOT THE SUN UP IN THE SKY. NICHELLE NICHOLS, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS LIEUTENANT UHURA ON STAR TREK, BECAME AN ICON AS THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO PLAY A LEAD ROLE. NOT ONLY DID SHE THINK ABOUT LEAVING STAR TREK BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE IN THE THEATER, MARTIN LUTHER KING HIMSELF CALLED HER AND SAID, PLEASE, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A PERSON LIKE US HAS BEEN IN A ROLE OF POWER AND INFLUENCE, AND I NEED YOU TO STAY. ATTORNEY LISA CURTIS FILED A WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT AGAINST HELA MEDICAL CENTER IN SILVER CITY. THAT’S WHERE NICHOLS WAS TREATED IN 2022, NICHELLE NICHOLS HAD A NEW HEART CONDITION. AND AND THE GREAT PEOPLE THAT WERE TAKING CARE OF HER SENT HER TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM TO BE DIAGNOSED. THEY DID A TERRIBLE JOB OF THAT. THE LAWSUIT ALLEGES HELA MEDICAL CENTER HIRED CREDENTIALED AND INAPPROPRIATELY SUPERVISED UNQUALIFIED MEDICAL PROVIDERS AND ALLOWED THEM TO TREAT MISS NICHOLS. NICHOLS WAS TRANSFERRED TO AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY, WHERE SHE DIED HOURS LATER, SO SHE NEEDED TO SEE SOMEBODY THAT COULD DIAGNOSE AND TREAT HER. THEY DIDN’T TRANSFER HER TO LAS CRUCES. YOU KNOW, IT’S A TRIP DOWN I-25. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN EASY CALL. BUT THE PROBLEM IS A HOSPITAL HAD VERY POOR POLICIES FOR THAT. WE REACHED OUT TO THE MEDICAL CENTER AND THEIR ATTORNEY. THIS IS JOHN RUPOLO FROM KOAT, BUT NEVER HEARD BACK. BUT IN COURT FILINGS, THE HOSPITAL SAYS NICHOLS DEATH WAS DUE TO NATURAL CAUSES. YEAH. AND THAT JURY AWARDING THE FAMILY $13 MILLION IN THIS CASE. WE’LL HAVE MORE COMI
Jury awards $13 million to Star Trek star’s family in death lawsuit
Nichols family alleging wrongful death
Updated: 8:54 AM MDT Jun 5, 2026
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Nichelle Nichols, widely recognized for her role as Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek,” became a trailblazer as the first Black woman to play a lead role on television. Not only did Nichols consider leaving “Star Trek” to pursue theater, but Martin Luther King Jr. personally urged her to stay. “Please, this is the first time a person like us has been in a role of power and influence, and I need you to stay,” said Lisa Curtis, an attorney for the Nichols family. Nichelle Nichols’ family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Gila Medical Center in Silver City, New Mexico, where Nichols was treated in 2022. A jury awarded $13 million to the family.”Nichelle Nichols had a new heart condition, and the great people that were taking care of her sent her to the emergency room to be diagnosed. They did a terrible job of that,” Curtis said. The lawsuit alleges that Gila Medical Center “hired, credentialed, and inappropriately supervised unqualified medical providers and allowed them to treat Ms. Nichols.” Nichols was later transferred to an assisted living facility, where she died hours later. “So, she needed to see somebody that could diagnose her and treat her. They didn’t transfer her to Las Cruces. It’s just a trip down I-25. It should have been an easy call, but the problem is a hospital very poor policies for that,” Curtis said. Attempts to reach the medical center and their attorney for comment were unsuccessful. However, in court filings, the hospital stated Nichols died due to natural causes.
Nichelle Nichols, widely recognized for her role as Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek,” became a trailblazer as the first Black woman to play a lead role on television.
Not only did Nichols consider leaving “Star Trek” to pursue theater, but Martin Luther King Jr. personally urged her to stay. “Please, this is the first time a person like us has been in a role of power and influence, and I need you to stay,” said Lisa Curtis, an attorney for the Nichols family.
Nichelle Nichols’ family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Gila Medical Center in Silver City, New Mexico, where Nichols was treated in 2022. A jury awarded $13 million to the family.
“Nichelle Nichols had a new heart condition, and the great people that were taking care of her sent her to the emergency room to be diagnosed. They did a terrible job of that,” Curtis said.
The lawsuit alleges that Gila Medical Center “hired, credentialed, and inappropriately supervised unqualified medical providers and allowed them to treat Ms. Nichols.”
Nichols was later transferred to an assisted living facility, where she died hours later.
“So, she needed to see somebody that could diagnose her and treat her. They didn’t transfer her to Las Cruces. It’s just a trip down I-25. It should have been an easy call, but the problem is a hospital [with] very poor policies for that,” Curtis said.
Attempts to reach the medical center and their attorney for comment were unsuccessful. However, in court filings, the hospital stated Nichols died due to natural causes.
